'There was just blood everywhere': Mother details attack of 3 pit bulls on young son

Justin Gilstrap finished a game of soccer at his friend's house in Appling on Friday afternoon and hopped on his bike to make it home by his 6 p.m. curfew. During the ride, he was dragged off his bike and into a ditch by three pit bulls.

By what his mother describes as a miracle, Justin made it home alive – but forever changed – after the dogs ripped off one of his ears and 80% of his scalp in a vicious attack.

Ericka Gilstrap, Justin's mother, said her nephew, who was still at the house where they were playing soccer, heard him screaming and followed his voice to the ditch.

"By the time he got to him, he could see the dogs and that's when he called 911," she said. "Justin was alone when it happened and that's what is so heartbreaking to me. He knew he had to be home by 6 (p.m.) and he wasn't getting in trouble."

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A neighbor and Justin's grandmother ran to the scene. His grandmother grabbed the bike and beat the dogs off of Justin while the neighbor jerked him out of the ditch.

"When [my mother] turned around, Justin was standing behind her wanting to help her with the dogs," Ericka said. "With all of his injuries, he was there wanting to help her."

Justin put up a fight during the attack, later requiring staples on the bottom of his feet where he was kicking the pit bulls. Although her injuries were not as severe as Justin's, his grandmother was bitten in the forearm while trying to get the dogs off of him.

"She said there was just blood everywhere," Ericka said. "She couldn't tell where she was bleeding from ... but apparently he was bleeding from everywhere because there's not an inch of his body that is not covered in a cut or bruise."

Justin has had multiple surgeries and more are expected, his mother said. In addition to his head injuries, he has exposed bone on his legs. Doctors are still waiting to see if his other ear can be saved.

"As a mom, I don't even know where to touch him," Ericka said. "When he wants a hug, I've got little places on his face I'll kiss, but I don't want to hurt him. There's one spot right over his heart that doesn't have any bruises or marks so I put my hand there and rub when he starts waking up and he just goes right back to sleep."

Justin has a long road to physical recovery, but his mother said he will also require counseling to deal with the trauma of the attack.

"I'm hoping he's not going to have PTSD," she said. "They did warn me that he probably will need some therapy, just to get him back to where he was. He's sedated, so I don't know what he remembers, but one time when he woke up, he had tears coming down his face because he started crying."

Something Justin's mother said what she hopes cheers him up is the Georgia Bulldog's National Championship win Monday night.

"He's a big, big Bulldog fan. He wants to ... play for UGA one day," Gilstrap said. "I told him, 'You can do whatever you want to do honey. Shoot for the stars.'"

Ericka said she tried to narrate the game to him in his hospital room, even though he was sedated.

"I watched the game with him and I know he didn't know what was going on, but I was updating him constantly," she said. "Normally, he would be the one jumping around, screaming at the TV, just being happy. I saved some highlights for him and I was so, so glad they won because I know that it's going be a question that's asked when he wakes up: 'Did Georgia win? Baby, they didn't win, they kicked butt.'"

Dogs' owner arrested

Ericka said this is not the first time the pit bulls were spotted running free in the neighborhood.

"They're always free. They don't even have a fence in their backyard," she said. "We would catch them in our yard. My dad made a report about the dogs being loose and those are the same dogs that attacked my sister's Yorkie ... ."

An incident report from Jan. 2, 2022 notes Ericka's sister, Kelly Aguilar, reported her Yorkshire terrier was attacked by two pit bulls in her fenced in backyard.

After Justin's attack, deputies met with the pit bulls' owner, who admitted the dogs were his and said he was not home during the attack, according to an incident report filed by deputies on Friday.

The 26-year-old was arrested for reckless conduct and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center. He is now out on bond.

Animal Services confirmed the owner turned seven dogs over to the county immediately following the incident Friday evening. The are being quarantined for 10 days, as required by state law.

"The fate of the dogs will be determined as the investigation moves forward," according to a county official.

Animal Services only has vaccination records for two of the dogs. Ericka said her son is being treated as if the three that attacked him had rabies.

#JustinTough trending on social media

The night of the attack, Ericka said the family was discussing how tough Justin was for putting up such a strong fight against the dogs. They decided to create the hashtag #JustinTough, which spread rapidly on social media once the story broke.

"He's lucky to be alive and it's because he put up that fight," she said. "He's tougher than me. I don't think I could have done half of what he did. He never shed a tear in the emergency room. Even in the ambulance, they were bragging about how polite and calm he was."

Ericka said she is going to continue to fight, just like her son did during the attack, to spread awareness.

"Our lives have been forever changed and I just want to make as much good out of a horrible situation as I can," she said. "If you're not comfortable with dogs that are running around, call and make that report, follow up on that report. Make sure something's done, because the next time it may be something like this. I'm going to do whatever it takes, even if I have to fight to change laws around here, I'm going to do it. I owe him that."

'You feel like you've got an army behind you'

The family created a GoFundMe to help with expenses. As of Thursday, the campaign has raised over $139,000.

"I am the only source of income for four children," she said. "I am not going to be able to work for a few months. They've already warned me that he's going to be in here for possibly two months and then they're going to send him to Atlanta for a while for rehab. So I have to have a way of being able to provide for my four kids and make our house handicap accessible for when he gets back. Being a single mom of four kids, I wouldn't be able to pay for that by myself."

Ericka added the money that has already been raised has eliminated a lot of her fears about how to keep the lights on and feed her kids over the next few months, allowing her to focus on Justin.

"It really is a weight off our shoulders," she said. "The outpouring of donations, cards and prayers blows my mind. You don't feel alone. You feel like you've got an army behind you. It's just been overwhelming and I'll never be able to repay all these people back, but I know that's going be the silver lining behind this – to be able to show Justin that not everybody's bad."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Pit bull attacks Appling Georgia boy, mother says he is recovering